Past Lives
by dreamer-girl-reana
Summary: He had loved her with all his heart. She made him feel alive, like there was no point in worrying about tomorrow; but that was a lifetime ago and she was gone forever. Even now he’s haunted by fire red hair and forest green eyes when he goes to sleep.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: **So I've recently become a huge fan of the show True Blood, and specifically the character of Eric Northman. This story's been floating in my head for a while, so since I'm feeling creative and have been itching to do some writing, I decided to give this a shot. Reviews are encouraged! I like seeing if anyone's reading or cares (: This is unedited as I just wanted to get it up here--more likely then that I'll continue. I've tried not to alter too much to insert my OC in. Anyways, enjoy!!_

* * *

_He had loved her with all his heart. She made him feel alive, like there was no point in worrying about tomorrow; but that was a lifetime ago and she was gone forever. But even now he's haunted by fire red hair and forest green eyes when he goes to sleep—dreams of the one he could never have._

* * *

The night had just begun and already Fangtasia was packed. Tourists mingled with fang bangers and vampires alike. Chow was at the bar, serving drinks as fast as he could, Pam at the door and Eric in his usual place upon the stage in his throne. Clear blue eyes scanned the crowds boredly, searching for something to catch their interest. Seeing nothing interesting, he returned to his phone, texting everyone and no one all at once. Things hadn't been the same for him; not since Godric had died at least. At this, the face of a woman appeared unbidden to his mind. Fair skinned with deep green eyes and black hair. There was something vaguely familiar about her, and yet he couldn't put his finger on it…

_Godric's words were final. He could not deny the command of his maker. The vaguely warm blood that leaked from his eyes served as a reminder that this was no nightmare, no dream he would soon awake from, it was reality. Godric would meet the sun, and never return. Metal hitting concrete sounded throughout the silence, Sookie jumping slightly in surprise. A woman darted up onto the roof, cheeks flushed, from makeup or the sprint he wasn't sure, and to Godric's side._

_Eric was, admittedly, surprised. The woman was strikingly beautiful. Long jet black hair to her hips blew wildly in the evening wind and was clearly messy from a run. Her lips were full and deep red, and her face was obviously attractive. She was dressed tastefully, to say the least. A tight laced black corset accentuated her curves and a blood red bubble skirt and black flats gave her an understated elegance that complimented her face._

"_I came as soon as I heard," she said urgently, eyes filled with sadness, "You cannot do this. You cannot leave me alone," she added quietly, eyes filled with despair as she gripped his hand._

_Godric's face was kind, the same face he'd responded to Eric with, one that he would never forget._

"_Somehow I knew you'd come. You always do…" he said quietly, fingers curling around her hand, a small comforting smile on his face._

"_Godric, this is madness. Please, you cannot go. I won't let you leave me," she pleaded. Her voice, which was soft and smooth like honey, had a desperate tone to it. Watching the exchange, Eric was rather shocked to see the rims of her green eyes turning red with the tell tale signs of blood tears. Who was this strange vampire, and what gave her the right to be so friendly with __his__ maker?_

_The two remained silent for a while, Godric's smile never faltering. "Please…" she whispered in a last ditch effort though her face had changed. It was no longer desperate, she knew as well as Eric did that Godric wouldn't be persuaded to change his mind. If Eric couldn't dissuade him, surely this female wouldn't be able to. Something in the back of his mind told Eric that the sun would rise soon. Silently, Godric shifted his attention back to Eric, "Go. The sun will be rising soon," he ordered gently._

_Eric opened his mouth to protest—why was the female allowed to stay, but he was not?_

"_Don't worry Eric. She will keep me company…and I have Sookie as well."_

_Standing for a moment more, Eric said his silent goodbye. Dead heart breaking, he trudged down the stairs back into the hotel. Not able to leave until he knew Godric was gone for good, he remained behind the safety of the heavy door that kept the suns light out, listening carefully. He heard Sookie talking quietly with Godric who, by his tone of voice, seemed rather happy._

"_It is time…" came the reserved voice of the strange woman. Oh, what he wouldn't give to see what was happening, to say his final farewells. Hearing quiet sobs, and then one loud cry, he knew that his maker was gone forever—he had finally met the sun._


	2. Chapter 1

**_A/N: _**_Once again, simply warning that this is COMPLETELY unedited and unrevised. Please pardon any grammar errors etc. I just wanted to get this up here. Enjoy the chapter (sorry it's so short, school and all), and please do review. I know you're reading this, I can see the hit count. I'd really appreciate your feedback. Without further adieu, chapter 1!_

* * *

Mind returning to reality at Pam's voice, Eric cleared his throat, looking up.

"Yes?" he asked—the slightest hint of irritation in his usually stoic voice. A few moments of silence passed between the two vampires, Pam rolling her eyes, "Closing time," she replied shortly, leaving the stage and disappearing to the back of the club. Sure enough, when Eric looked around the place was empty. Of course, he'd gotten caught up once again in the memory of the strange vampire woman. There was something ridiculously familiar about her face, but for the life—or lack thereof—of him, he could not place it. The thousand year old Viking vampire pushed the face from his mind, standing up and walking to the back of Fangtasia. Dawn was fast approaching and, much to his chagrin, that meant another day of dreaming about the eerily familiar, and yet completely strange, vampire woman.

By the time he'd reached his coffin, buried deep beneath the floors of Fangtasia, Pam and Chow had both left, heading to their own homes to sleep the day away. Too distracted to change out of the clothes he'd been wearing that evening, he slid soundlessly into the black coffin, closing the lid above him and sitting motionlessly in the familiar darkness. Pale lids closed over sapphire blue eyes, immersing Eric completely in the shadows.

He was not, however, left in peace for long. As he drifted off to sleep, a snow white face with blood red lips and forest green eyes filled his mind, hair and shadow blending into one. Shifting in his coffin, Eric let his imagination take control. After all, the woman had made it clear she would not be forgotten easily. As the sun rose and his imagination ran rampant, the thousand year old vampire fell asleep to pictures of mysteriously familiar women with red and black hair.

* * *

The next evening came too quickly for Eric's taste. He'd been quite content letting his mind run free with the two women that continued to haunt his mind. Both looked almost identical—the only difference being their contradicting hair colors. Rising from his coffin, he begrudgingly changed out of his dirty clothes from the previous evening. At the thought of another night of boredom, sitting on his throne and staring off into the sea of people, Eric grimaced. How could he possibly sit there, doing nothing, for another night?

Regardless of the conflicts going on in his head, within two hours Eric was back on his throne, staring off into the sea of faces and bodies, moving and speaking, yet saying nothing. It wasn't until the door opened the 300th time, as he'd been counting to keep his mind occupied, that Eric finally focused. There, standing just inside _his_ club, stood the mysterious woman from the other day. Had it really only been two days? He could hardly believe it. Her hair was tamer now, cascading down her back in carefully arranged curls, stopping just above a crimson belt, fastened with a polished pewter skull. She fit in perfectly, and yet she stood out like a Queen. Clad in head to toe in black leather, silver colored studs, shining petwer skulls, and crimson, she was quite the vision to behold.

Apparently, Eric wasn't the only one who'd noticed the newcomer. Several males approached the female vampire, trying to garner her attention. With vague surprise, the Viking noted exactly where her eyes were fastened—him. Smiling vaguely, the siren with ebony hair turned her head, engaging one of the nearby males with ease. He wasn't anything special in Eric's opinion. Decently attractive and fairly fit, but he was clearly only after one thing. As soon as the male made his move, the female was gone, moving effortlessly through the crowd. Eric's eyes trailed after the woman clad in leather and crimson, watching as she made her way to the stage.

"Permission to approach?" she inquired. Clearly she wasn't new; she knew vampire etiquette down to the tiniest territory issues that they all suffered from. Eric nodded silently, watching her easily ascend onto the stage and approach him.

"From what I gather, you're the owner of this club?" she questioned again, Eric nodding once more in response.

"You were also one of Godric's, yes?"

At this question, Eric shifted in his chair uncomfortably; his heart, however dead it happened to be, ached at the mention of his lost friend and maker.

"Your silence speaks for you. I too was made by Godric, and that is why I've come to find you. You've…intrigued me, at the very least. There's something familiar about you, and now that Godric is…gone, I thought I would track down the others made by him to tell them the news. I thought that perhaps you might know someone else," she said, evergreen eyes not once leaving his. After a few moments of silent contemplation, Eric nodded, standing.

"Come, we will talk elsewhere. Some place more…private," he declared, glancing accusatorily at the group of people watching. The female glance back briefly, a motion so quick that even Eric barely caught it, "Yes…perhaps that is better. Lead the way…" she said, trailing off as though waiting to remember his name. Catching on immediately, Eric supplied the closing to her sentence, "Eric."

A vague smile pulled at the corners of her crimson lips and she nodded, "My name is Adísa."


	3. Chapter 2

_**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. I'm quite pleased to see that I'm getting readers (story activity is a savior). Nevertheless, I'd really appreciate some reviews, if that's not too much to ask. I'm trying really hard to keep consisitent chapters going--one a day, depending on my ridiculous homework load. Anyways, I tend to stop stories abruptly because no one appreciates them. I see that people are reading, so just drop a review? Nothing deep even, just a few words. That's not so bad is it? Read, enjoy, review my lovelies!_

* * *

Eric sat at his desk, sapphire eyes studying the vampire sitting on the other side of the wooden piece of furniture. No matter how hard he tried, he could not place her. Neither face nor voice nor name completely clicked in his head. It was as though someone was waving the forbidden memories before him, moving continually so that they were always just out of reach. Adísa—it was clearly a Nordic name, old too. It wasn't every day that he heard a name like that, a good old Viking name; as familiar as her face and voice, and yet as foreign as Japanese kanji.

"You look frustrated. Have I done something?" she inquired, glancing up. For a moment, their eyes locked—sapphire and emerald. As soon as they'd met, she changed her gaze, glancing briefly at her nails, painted over in black.

"No…you simply seem…familiar. I cannot place you," he admitted sullenly, not exactly pleased to be admitting something to the completely strange female.

"Ah, well then, that makes two of us."

Two of them? So she too recognized him? Perhaps they had met somewhere during their lives. Godric could have introduced the two; clearly she was close to him. The idea seemed perfectly feasible, and at the same time completely illogical. He would have remembered her better if Godric had introduced them—he only introduced Eric to his dearest friends, something he hadn't done in several hundred years. Mind falling into thought, Eric was jerked back to reality at Adísa's voice.

"I don't want to take up any more of your time, so I'll make this brief. Are there any other changelings of Godric's in the US that you are aware of?" she inquired. There was something so familiar about her voice. It was soft and gentle, but there was an undertone of authority that couldn't be ignored. Running a hand through his hair, Eric shook his head.

"No, none that I am aware of. The only ones that I do know of are scattered around Europe," he admitted, feeling somehow remorseful that he couldn't help the woman further. She seemed unphased, as though she had been expecting it.

"Ah, well, then he was right…" she murmured, emerald eyes shifting down to look at her nails. A moment of silence passed, not awkward, simply contemplative. She stood, straightening the leather and crimson fabric that covered her body, "Thank you for your time. I appreciate the help."

Eric stood, taking the slender hand that she reached out to him, a faint smile playing on her lips, "It was lovely meeting you, Eric."

"You as well, Adísa," he replied with a stoic nod, face remaining his calm mask of stone. A thought came unbidden to his mind, "Will you be in the area long?"

At his question, Adísa's face changed. The same look of sadness that he'd borne witness to three nights ago at Godric's death graced her face now. Somehow, something inside of him tugged at his heart. There was something annoyingly mysterious about her; he'd barely met her and already she elicited emotions from him—something the stoic Viking was not at all used to.

"I fear that I've come against the wishes of my…masters. They'll be here for me soon enough and they'll bring me back to Romania," she admitted quietly, releasing her hold on Eric's hand. Owners? What could she possibly mean by owners? She was obviously no human being, and she was clearly strong and considerably aged. No sooner had the words left her lips however, the door to Eric's office slammed open. There, in the doorway, stood three vampires.

The one in the center was the only female, and the most…attention grabbing of the three. Her hair was long, the top layered and spiked, and was dyed in two tones of purple. Her apparel consisted of purple and black, pewter jewelry adding to the dark apparel and her face covered in multiple nose, lip and eyebrow piercings.

The males on either side of her looked uncannily similar, like identical twins. Both had cropped black hair, slicked back out of their faces, brown eyes and creamy white skin. They wore suits, a stark contrast to the females color, and they looked solemn as the grave.

"Think you could run away, eh?" the female snapped, both males moving forward and grabbing either of Adísa's arms. Eric hissed, pushing them away with ease, "Who are you and what gives you the right to barge in on _my_ office, in _my_ club, and in _my_ district?" he snarled, the girl rolling her eyes.

"Oh please, as if—"

"It's alright Eric. She's my master's changeling. I have to go now," she said calmly, Eric lowering his fists and letting his fangs slide back into place. The purple-haired vampire blew a chunk of misplaced hair from her forehead, nodding to the two males.

Apparently, they had just the thing to contain Adísa with. Leather gloves covered their hands as they each procured a silver chain. Wincing minutely as her skin hissed in response to the contact, Adísa remained silent as they bound her hands with one chain, wrapping the other around her neck as a lead.

Eric was considerably flabbergasted. He'd heard of cruelties inflicted on vampires as a result of silly trivialities, but this was flat out uncalled for. Not once in his millennium of undead life had he seen actual vampire slavery. Sure, he'd heard rumors and wild accusations, but not once had he found any fact supporting the theory that vampire-vampire slavery actually occurred. This proved him irrevocably wrong.

Adísa turned, her skin hissing and smoking slightly as it moved against the silver chain across her neck. Giving him some weak semblance of a smile, her eyes connected with his again. Somehow, he knew everything would work out, that it would be okay. As soon as the female had come into his life, she'd disappeared in a flash of purple, crimson, black and silver.


	4. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__First off, I'm SO sorry for the late chapter. Friday I was dead tired and had to babysit, Saturday I was busy cleaning and running errands, Sunday was completely dedicated to all my homework, and so it's really late. So sorry again! This chapters longer than the last, in an attempt to make up for the late update. Anyways, thank you to those lovelies that reviewed—I love you and this chapter is dedicated to you. (: Without any further adieu, chapter 3!_

* * *

No more than an hour later, Adísa sat in the private jet that they'd chartered from Anubis Air. It was a new model—light canceling shades that slid over the windows so that they didn't have to travel in the coffins the entire way.

"You didn't have to be so rude, Vivien," the female muttered, moving her arms delicately to avoid agitating the skin further—the silver had done enough.

The woman rolled her eyes, "Oh please, you're just lucky that Nathaniel only wanted me to make sure you got back in one piece. He was rather generous considering that the silver is your only punishment for such heinous misbehavior," she replied curtly.

Adísa simply ignored the comment, looking out the window into the nighttime sky, "I would've come back you know. I'm not stupid. I know Nathaniel's limits better than you do," she muttered, Vivien sneering.

"Yea, yea, sure you would've. Stop complaining about it and be quiet. I don't want to listen to you talking this entire time."

Emerald eyes glanced up, "Why should I listen to you? You're not Nathaniel, you technically have no control over me," she stated, Vivien glaring.

"Forget it, I'm going to sleep. At least I won't have to listen to you anymore," she snapped, standing up and heading to the back, where four Anubis Air coffins were laid out. Two were occupied by the twins, the other two for Adísa and Vivien. This had been exactly what Adísa had wanted. Peace and quiet—time to think and hopefully get out of the silver chains around her body. Hearing the coffin lock with a click, the ivory skinned female sighed.

Twisting her hand around slowly, biting back at the pain that erupted in her wrist as soon as her skin began moving against the silver chain, Adísa grabbed hold of the other chain. The skin covering her fingers hissed and burned, smoking slightly as she grunted with pain. Pulling the chain off her wrist, she released her hold on it as soon as she could. Her left wrist was raw and bright red, a deep open sore around her entire wrist where the chain had previously been. Moving the hand over to her right wrist, she removed the chain from the other side as well, wincing as it pulled away from her skin. Wrists and finger tips in near agony, she glanced around the cabin quickly for something to cover her hands with.

Luckily, there was a mini bar on board—and that meant towels. Standing up slowly, she moved across the dark cabin, grabbing the nearest towel. Covering her aching right hand, she pulled the chain off from around her neck, skin smoking and burning with pain as she did so. The instant the chain was off, Adísa dropped both towel and chain, sitting back in her seat and closing her eyes, trying to calm her body down so she could heal properly. It wouldn't take long—she hadn't lost any blood to speak of.

Closing her eyes, the female vampire let her mind wander, not at all surprised when it stopped on Eric. No matter how hard she tried, she could not bring herself to shake the feeling that she knew him from somewhere. It was as though they'd met long ago and someone had covered up the memories with all the things she remembered and knew now. Sighing, she relaxed into the chair, letting her head fill with images of the Viking vampire. Mind wandering dangerously close to the realm of sleep, Adísa pulled herself up off the chair. If Vivien woke and found the chains off her, she'd simply have them wrapped again. At least if she was in the travel coffin, she'd be less likely to disturb her.

Pushing open the door that separated the luxury cabin from the four coffins, Adísa opened the very last one. Closing the door behind her, she slipped tiredly into the metal resting place. The metal lid slid nicely into place, locking automatically as it did so. Surrounded by darkness, she fell asleep almost instantaneously.

* * *

Doors to his office opening, Eric reentered the club area. Instead of seeing fang bangers, humans and vampires drinking and dancing madly to the beat of the music, he saw overturned tables, spilled drinks and every creature picking themselves up off the ground.

"I hope you intend to go after that bitch!" Pam snapped, appearing at Eric's side as soon as he'd entered.

"Which one?" he questioned dully, glancing around and having a fairly good idea of who'd caused the chaos.

"The bitch with the purple hair—she knocked everything over when she stormed in here like the Queen of the US or something," Pam informed him, clearly agitated at the blatant show of disrespect.

Sighing, Eric pushed past her, "I'm taking the evening off. Clean up the mess and get things back to normal," he ordered, Pam frozen in shock. Sure, Eric could be rude, stoic, and even cruel—but he very rarely blatantly ignored her. Glaring after his retreating form, Pam turned around, "You heard him. Clean it up!"

Eric looked around the streets of the city. He needed something to distract his mind from Adísa and her quick disappearance. Who was this Vivien, and what gave her the right to drag Adísa off with her? Most importantly, why was Adísa so important as for this vampire owner to risk getting killed over vampire slavery? It had to be something extremely useful to the creature, since the punishment for the forbidden ownership of another vampire was a rather painful and drawn out death.

If there was anyone that would know about this woman, and the business of vampire-vampire slavery, it would be Sophie-Anne. At the thought of the rather annoying Lousianna vampire Queen, Eric shuddered. Nevertheless, the images of Adísa, Vivien and the two vampire body guards would not leave his head. Frankly, Eric simply _had_ to know about this. Mind made up, he disappeared into the night, appearing once again to the human eye outside the home of Sophie-Anne.

The Queen was outside that evening, and Eric was directed to the back gardens.

"Eric! How lovely to see you," Sophie-Anne quipped with a smile. She was in her usual attire—reddish brown hair pinned half back and decked out head to toe in 40's Hollywood fashions.

"Good evening," Eric replied, bowing ever so slightly in the presence of the Queen. While she might have been half his age and much weaker, she had more political power.

"To what do I owe this lovely surprise?" she inquired, turning her back to him to inspect a pale pink rose bush, "Nothing amiss I should hope."

How was he going to put this to her? She had a temper that was fairly easily tipped the wrong way with ill picked words. Thinking for a moment as the Vampire Queen inspected the bush of white roses next, Eric chose his phrasing carefully.

"I've recently come in contact with another of Godric's changelings. During the course of our conversation, we were…interrupted, by a woman who claimed to be the child of her owner. I was under the impression that vampire-vampire slavery was outlawed and was hoping that you might…shed some light on the circumstances."

For a few moments Sophie-Anne continued on with her task as though she hadn't heard him, "I don't suppose that she was a foreigner, was she?" she finally questioned, moving on to another bed of flowers, the slightest edge to her voice.

"I believe she was from Romania," Eric admitted. Were the rules there different than in America? He was certain that the codes here were the same as there and vice versa.

"Ah, well that explains things," the female said, standing with a smile, "That country is completely insane. Honestly, just because they were supposedly the heartland of the first vampires. It's a different world entirely there, Eric. The humans are the minorities; they have the least amount of rights. The vampire's society works differently. They play by our rules when they're here or in other countries, but life there is much different from here," she said, shaking her head, "Really; they're all quite backward there."

This made enough sense to Eric. Romania was the Mecca for all vampires, as it was the homeland of their birth. Why not allow them to make their own rules? They had plenty vampires, and of course not all of them agreed with conforming to the vampire rules employed in places with high human populations. Nevertheless, he saw no reason why such an abomination was allowed.

"I don't make the rules there. What is simply is," she said, turning to face him, "Why are you so concerned about it anyway? Has my dear little Viking sheriff found himself in love?" she teased with a wicked smile.

Eric glared, "Don't be ridiculous Sohpie-Anne. I don't love, and you know that. Thank you for the information, my mind can rest easy knowing there has been no criminal violation of the vampire code. I will leave you to your garden," he said with another curt bow.

"Very well then, you are dismissed," Sophie-Anne said with a sigh, waving him off as she continued her slow procession through the gardens of her home. After being showed out by the guards, Eric made a quick return to Fangtasia. By now the club would be closed, there wasn't much time until sunrise now. Slowly, he made his way to his coffin beneath the club.

While he'd gotten one question answered, it wasn't helping him in the way of mental calm. For every one question he got answered, it seemed as though there were ten more waiting to take its place. Neither Vivien nor Adísa sounded even remotely Romanian. True, it could merely be that they were born elsewhere, but something didn't quite sit right with Eric. If this master of Adísa's was willing to go all the way to Romania so he could legally own a vampire slave, there must be some extremely good reasons behind it. Why bother going through all the trouble if the goods aren't worth it?

Coffin lid sliding into place, Eric closed his eyes to the darkness around him. Mind a whirl of questions and ideas, Eric fell into a fitful sleep; one that not even the images of Adísa could calm.


	5. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **I'm sorry for yet another late update. School's once again hectic, and I had a Honors Induction the other night. A little bit shorter than the last chapter, but longer than the first two. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you to the lovely that reviewed (: Te amo! Without further adieu, chapter 4 for your reading pleasure. Review my lovelies!!_When Adísa next came to, she was only vaguely surprised to find herself in a comfortable bed. The room was familiar, to her dismay. She'd occupied the large bedroom for many years after all. It was dark, furnished in deep heavy wooden furniture, all of which was authentic, hand crafted during the medieval era, as well as deep reds, greens, purples and golds.

* * *

"_Good evening Mistress Adísa, and welcome home," _sounded the voice of a young Romanian woman. She clearly didn't speak English, or Nathaniel would have her speaking it.

"_Good evening. I suppose Nathaniel is waiting?"_ Adísa inquired, getting out of bed and stretching her body out. The small woman nodded, steely grey eyes watching her closely. Clearly, the girl was a human.

"_Very well, inform him that I'll only be a few minutes. I'll freshen up and be down soon,"_ she stated, waving the suspicious and vaguely nervous looking servant girl off. As soon as the servant girl was gone, Adísa moved across the room to the vanity. Her reflection was what she was used to, hair dyed jet black, skin pale, face the same as it had always been. The marks around her neck had healed, no traces of any scars left over. Feeling over her wrists, she was unsurprised to feel no scars—just smooth skin. Pulling a brush quickly through her hair, she exited the room.

Her feet carried her down the familiar hallways. To a newcomer, they were nothing short of labyrinthine; but she'd been in the castle for ages—or at least it seemed like ages to her. The castle belonged to Nathaniel Cross, a vampire from a very old human family with lots of money. Of course, he'd also managed to trick Adísa, and for that she could never truly appreciate the cocky male vampire.

Adísa stopped in front of two large double doors. They were heavy and obviously old, made of ornately carved oak and iron. Two male vampires stood outside, guarding the entrance to Nathaniel's private complex of rooms.

"Mistress Adísa, good to see you home again," one commented, a thick Italian accent coating his words.

"Yes, so is everyone else apparently. Is Nathaniel ready to see me?" she questioned tiredly. One of the worst things about her home here was that everyone was _annoyingly_ proper. Nathaniel enjoyed having a sense of old world etiquette, extending to the staff and the humans that he owned for feeding purposes.

"Of course, go right on in," the male vampire replied. Both the vampires moved towards the doors, pulling them open for her. Adísa gave them a curt nod, entering into the first chamber—his parlor so to speak.

The room was decorated in furniture similar to that of Adísa's room—heavy authentic medieval furniture and dark colors. Sitting in the middle of the room in a high backed chair sat Nathaniel. He was attractive, to say the very least. The vampire was pale, as were all of them. His hair was jet black and slicked back away from his face. His eyes were a unique shade—deep brown shot through with amber. The vampire was always dressed well, his closet filled with designer suits and shoes.

"My little Adísa, you've been a very naughty girl," he purred, looking up from his chair as she walked in.

Regardless of the male's charm, Adísa had become quite immune to his looks and mannerisms long ago.

"On the contrary, I merely took a small deviation to say farewell to an old friend," she replied indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest as the doors closed behind her.

Nathaniel frowned, standing, "My poor little Adísa has lost her Maker. I can only imagine the pain you must be feeling right now," he cooed, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"There's no point in trying to sweet talk your way out of this," the female vampire replied, pulling her shoulder away, "you let Vivien throw silver chains around me and haul me off."

"Adísa, Adísa, Adísa…when will you learn?" Nathaniel sighed, turning and sitting on his chair again, eyes trailing over her form, "I had to punish you for your disobedience _somehow_. That was mild."

"Yes, so she informed me," Adísa replied. She could care less about how mild the punishment was. The two vampires had an agreement. While Nathaniel technically owned Adísa, she was allowed freedoms. She was treated as a Mistress of the house, subservient only to Nathaniel. So, naturally, when her position was challenged and Vivien was allowed to force her to be subservient, the elder female vampire was understandably upset.

"Nevertheless, it goes against our little arrangement. You seem to forget Nathaniel—you might come from an old human family with piles of money, but I'm still older and more powerful than you. I wouldn't suggest letting Vivien step out of her place again," she said curtly, giving Nathaniel a warning glance.

Nathaniel looked her over, face a mask of stone, "I believe it is you who is out of place. You are still subservient to me. Regardless of your age, I _own_ you. Your freedom is only in place because of _me_ and you'll do well not to forget it. Now, who was he?"

Caught off guard, Adísa gave Nathaniel a questioning look, "The blonde vampire Vivien claimed you'd run off to see. Obviously he was not Godric; I know just what that boy looked like. So who was he?"

Silence permeated the room for a few moments, Adísa weighing her options, "He was another one of Godric's children."

A look of understanding passed briefly over Nathaniel's handsome face, "Ah, so then you knew him?" he inquired, watching Adísa closely.

Frown pulling the corners of her mouth down, Adísa shook her head, "He was familiar, but I cannot place ever really meeting him…but this all seems irrelevant. Why am I here?" she said, pushing the subject away from Eric and her motives for seeing him.

Relaxing back into his chair, Nathaniel remained silent for a few moments, "I have a job for you my little wicked one. I have an old friend who is in need of your services. He will be visiting in the next few days and I expect you to help him however you can…within reason of course."

The female vampire scanned Nathaniel's face for sincerity. She'd just completely disobeyed him, talked back and thrown his ownership in his face and all he wanted was to tell her she had a job to do? Blinking slowly, Adísa finally nodded, "Yes, of course. Is that all then?" she inquired, quite ready to leave the room.

"Yes, that is all," Nathaniel said, effectively dismissing her.

Black hair billowed out behind her as she turned on her heel, ready to leave. Hands on the handles, Nathaniel's voice once again resounded in her ears, "Oh, and Adísa…don't you dare do that little stunt again."

Nathaniel had an uncanny ability of sounding as sweet as honey and as venomous as a deadly snake without trying. Wincing at the looming threat, Adísa muttered a vague response, pushing open the doors that lead back to the hallway—she was more than ready to get out of the castle and into the countryside.

* * *

The music from the club upstairs made its way to Eric, who was stationed in his office below Fangtasia. Eyes scanning the computer screen before him, he closed the laptop. His eyes moved to the clock briefly—the evening had only just begun. Without any hesitance, he grabbed the black leather briefcase from beside the desk. The Viking checked his coat for the recently printed sheets of paper and wallet before disappearing out the back of the club.

A limo was waiting for him at the back of the club. Security was busy at the front of the club, only a few vampires working at the back to keep an eye on things. They were, however, not paying much attention—the female humans that Eric had lured to the back providing just enough distraction for him to slip away unnoticed. Pam of course was busy at the entrance, her and 'the vault' hard at work. Chow was most likely at the bar, and everyone was completely oblivious to the fact that the thousand year old Viking vampire was sneaking away under cover of the night, which in all technicality was no real cover at all.

The limo pulled onto the highway, and Eric glanced out the window. A small airplane symbol on the corner of one of the signs providing the only indication to the driver of which was they were headed. Chuckling slightly as he realized how completely unlike him this whole thing was, Eric pulled out the white ticket he'd bought and printed no more than an hour ago. Departing from Louisiana, arriving in Bucharest, Romania.

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_Ooh, intrigue! Eric's going to Romania! And who is this mysterious "friend" of Nathaniels? Review, or I'll be so discouraged I'll just have to discontinue the story. And you wouldn't want that to happen, would you? ;D_


	6. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **Sorry for another late update. Just a lotta stuff going on for me right now. Thank you to the lovely that reviewed, you make my day. Tried to make this longer, but I wanted it up tonight. So I babysat, stayed up till 1am writing, just so I could get another chapter up this weekend. You better review this, or I might just disappear of the face of this earth, as will the story. Enjoy, there will be drama and intrigue here ;D_

* * *

Traveling light always has its perks. Eric had managed to get to the airport late, and yet make his jet exactly on time. The jet he'd chartered was another new model by Anubis Air—outfitted with all the new sun blocking technology, and engines that generally cut travel time in half. Luckily for Eric, that meant that he'd arrive in Romania just around 9pm, late enough for the sun to be down in the foreign country. He had little recollection of ever traveling in the vicinity of Romania; Godric had never made any commentary about the country when he was a young vampire, and he certainly steered clear of the area.

After a thousand years of immortal life, very little surprised—or even fazed—the Viking vampire. However, as soon as Eric entered the terminal of the Bucharest airport, he was quite sure he'd been placed in another world completely. Instead of fast food restaurants and candy shops, the airport was filled with blood stations and blood bars. Vampires walked around as though it was no big deal, and he saw very few humans about.

A lone figure stood out—the only one in the crowd standing still. She was pale as snow, decked in head to toe in black, from the ruffled dress on her body to the sandals on her feet, to the slouchy knit hat she wore over her head, to the sunglasses perched on her face. Her hair was long and deep brown; Eric recognized her at once. He'd met her many years ago when she had come to visit America and stopped in at his bar. Of all the vampires he knew, she was closest to his age, about 850 years old by now.

"Mara, lovely to see you again," he greeted, walking up to her.

The female looked up, glancing over Eric and his briefcase, "I take it you don't plan on staying long?" she remarked, Eric shaking his head in response, "Very well then. If you want an audience with Nathaniel, we best hurry up. The man doesn't like last minute arrangements."

Without much other exchange between them, the two took off. She'd apparently gotten wealthier since Eric had last seen her, and was now quite comfortable—or at least that's what he'd gathered from the brand new Mercedes waiting for them outside. No sooner had they gotten situated than she'd started speaking again.

"Now Eric, I know you're accustomed to being able to get away with attitude and minor shows of disrespect to your elders, but Nathaniel is not one to put up with any of it. Romania is considerably different than the rest of the world. If you cross him and he doesn't like it, he can kill you and no one will say mum about it, understand?" she said, tone deadly and serious. Eric nodded, but otherwise remained silent. If this Nathaniel was half as bad as Mara was making him out to be, there was no wonder he had Adísa under his…employment.

"If this goes badly, you don't know me and I never helped you. Unlike you, I'm perfectly content to stay out of the lives of the rich and temperamental," she muttered warningly; obviously she knew more about this Nathaniel fellow then she was letting on.

"What would drive him to keep slaves?" Eric asked after a few moments of silence. Mara glanced up at him, frowning, "Please tell me this isn't about some slave girl you want…" she pleaded, knowing full well if he'd gone to the trouble of asking that it most likely was. Sighing, she shrugged.

"It completely depends. Nathaniel fancies himself a businessman, a killer and a collector. He's filthy rich, completely brutal, and anything remotely out of the ordinary…well, he buys," Mara explained, Eric nodding. It made sense enough to him. What else was one supposed to do with an eternity?

"He collects every type of human, shape shifter, werewolf and vampire that catches his eye…so obviously he's got the assets and the area for them. He lives in a secluded part of the countryside in a medieval castle that he bought and revamped to fit his needs…pun not intended," she continued, Eric listening quietly.

If this Nathaniel really had his hands on every type of race known to vampires, then there must be something extraordinary about Adísa. "How far does he live from here?" Eric questioned, glancing out at the night sky.

"Oh, an hour or less; relax, we'll be there long before daylight," Mara replied, turning away from Eric to face out the window nearest her. Sensing that the conversation had ended, Eric simply nodded, turning his attention to the rural landscape whirring by the Mercedes in the night.

The ride passed in silence for a good amount of time until the car began to make odd sputtering noises.

"What's that?" Mara demanded, the driver replying in quick, worried Romanian. Cussing lightly, Mara crossed her arms, Eric raising an eyebrow at her sudden show of any sort of emotion.

"The car's engine overheated. We're going to either be late, or burying ourselves in dirt tonight," she explained crossly, Eric grimacing at the thought of having to spend the night in the ground. He hadn't done that since his transformation from human to vampire. After a brief and clearly explicit exchange between driver and Mara, the two vampires exited the vehicle. The driver was talking on his cell phone, giving Mara worried glances as he spewed worried Romanian into the device.

"Now what?" Eric questioned, daring to spare a glance at Mara. She was clearly not in the least bit happy about their new predicament and was muttering under her breath.

"Now we wait here until the sun comes up and we die, or until that idiot human driver gets this damned engine fixed," she replied shortly, temper clearly flaring up at the change of plans.

"There you are. I've been waiting. She told me you'd be here like, 20 minutes ago," came a voice from the darkness. It was distinctly female, and Eric was on his guard at once. From the tall grasses that surrounded the highway, a thin female vampire emerged. Surprised, Mara whipped around, fangs beared as she hissed, crouching in a defensive stance.

"Relax Mara, she knows you're here. The car will be fixed within the hour and you can go home. Eric is to come with me," she explained. Eric was considerably shocked. The vampire felt young, and she looked it too. Decked out in varying shades of blue, glitter, her freckles and blonde pigtails only enhanced her childish look—yet she spoke with authority and confidence. Who was it that this little girl was referring to? Mara looked her over for a few minutes, nodding finally.

"Alright then Eric, you'll be going with Samantha. I hope I don't see your ugly Viking mug around here again. Get your bags and follow her," she ordered, the young girl smiling and grabbing his briefcase, "Come then Eric, there's someone waiting for you," she instructed, leading him into the tall grasses.

Glancing back to Mara, who merely shrugged, Eric turned back to the disappearing figure of the little girl and began to follow here begrudgingly. They walked quite a ways, finally coming to stop at a stone cottage at the borderline between fields and forest.

"Come on then, Eric. She's inside, and she's been waiting quite long enough," Samantha exclaimed, pushing open the door. Eric, right behind her, looked around. The place was small, but cozy. There was something overwhelmingly comforting about it, though he hadn't the slightest idea why.

The large stone fireplace was lit and two chairs sat before it. One was occupied, and the other was vacant. Samantha stepped closer to him, reaching up to his ear and whispering, "Go on, she's been waiting for you."

With great trepidation, Eric stepped closer to the fireplace. He couldn't see the figure well from the angle he was looking at.

"Who are you?" he inquired, though it was closer to a demand.

"I'm quite hurt, you forget me so soon?" replied the figure whose voice was eerily familiar.

The figure shifted and stood—jet black hair framed a strikingly beautiful face with snow white skin and emerald green eyes.

"Adísa?" Eric questioned, rather flabbergasted.

"Surpirse."

* * *

_Bwahaha. Who saw that one coming? (;_


	7. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**__ I'm SO sorry about the horrendously late update. My life's been really hectic--IB exams for my chem class are next week and everythings been really busy. Anyways, I ditched my IB Bio outcomes for an update, so I better get some reviews!200 people read the last chapter in one day and only one person review? Madness. Shout out to __**NvrMindIt**__ who left me a lovely review. (:_Eric was speechless. How had Adísa managed to find him? No one knew he was there, not even Pam or Chow.

* * *

"How did you—" he began, Adísa cutting him off.

"It doesn't really matter how. What matters is that you're here, yes? Which brings me to my question; why are you here, Eric?" she asked, leaning against the high backed chair.

Eric opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, pondering her question before finally answering, "I heard about Nathaniel, and his…collections. I wanted to see for myself who he was and if all I heard was true," he explained, Adísa frowning.

"I assure you, it's true. It was silly of you to come here, Nathaniel might seem to be a nice guy, but he's not. You should have stayed in Louisiana," she said, shaking her head.

"My apologies," Eric said tersely, "I was merely concerned about your…situation. Vampire slavery is illegal in every other country."

Adísa rolled her eyes, shaking her head, "That's all very touching, but I'm as old as you and just as strong. I can take care of myself just fine."

The two vampires stood, staring each other down as though it were some kind of test. Neither spoke, neither moved, just stood there, eyes locked together. It wasn't until Samantha returned that they blinked and turned away.

"Adísa, he's here to retrieve you," she said breathlessly. Eric opened his mouth, about to inquire who she meant was coming, when the door slammed open. Nathaniel, in all his sophisticated glory, stood in the doorway.

"My little Adísa, this is hardly a little walk," he purred. His eyes landed on Eric and he grinned, "Oh my, my, my, what's this we have here? Little Adísa has a new toy?" he questioned, moving closer to the two vampires.

Eric glared, insulted by Nathaniel's words, but before he could make any kind of retort, Adísa answered, "Not at all, Nathaniel. This is Eric; he's a friend of mine from America. He came to…visit me," she explained, the Viking vampire glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Nathaniel nodded, turning to look Eric over as though he were inspecting something he wanted to buy. He glanced at Adísa who, Eric noted, looked rather on edge. Before the new male could say anything, Adísa spoke, "He's the sheriff of Area 5; did you know that? I met him when I visited Godric in his final hours," she said quickly, Nathaniel raising an eyebrow.

"Oh? A sheriff, eh? Interesting. Making new friends all over the ladder aren't you little Adísa?" Nathaniel commented with a sly grin, "Well, we can't spend time here. It's almost daylight. Come, why don't you invite your friend to my home. I'm sure there's a spare room available for him."

Adísa turned to Eric with a strained smile, "Eric wouldn't you like to come over and visit a while longer? It's almost sunrise and I couldn't bear it if you left for some hotel this close to morning. Wouldn't you consider coming to stay with Nathaniel and me?" she asked, voice sweet.

Though she said nothing, and Nathaniel didn't seem to notice anything askew, there was something strained about Adísa's behavior, something fake and tense. Perhaps something was askew? Nevertheless, Eric felt that saying no would be more detrimental than it was worth—for both him and Adísa.

"I would be honored to stay at Nathaniel's home," he replied, Nathaniel grinning darkly.

"Wonderful, then it's settled. Come on Adísa, I know you know where the car is," he cooed, Adísa nodding and exiting. Eric glanced at Nathaniel who just motioned for him to follow.

"I will catch up with you two. I have some business to attend to," he replied, Eric nodding and following Adísa outside.

She was walking through the grasses quickly, glancing back every so often even though Eric was at her side. Eric glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "You look paranoid. Relax, he's coming later," he said, trying to calm her.

Apparently, there was more to the situation than Eric anticipated, "Of course he is, but it doesn't mean he isn't following us for good measure. If there is anything you must learn, it is not to trust or underestimate Nathaniel. He's darker and slipperier than a shadow," she warned under her breath. Somehow the confident vampire that wouldn't leave Eric's subconscious alone had changed to a suspicious and obedient slave girl; if there was one thing that Eric was sure of, he liked the Adísa he'd met atop the roof in Texas much better than this one. Adísa looked over at him, glancing behind her once again, "Just don't say anything. I'll visit you before sunrise," she ordered as they broke through the trees.

Eric slowed, taking in the sight before him. There was a decently sized hill before them and perched atop it sat a medieval castle—but apparently it was home to Adísa, for she huffed, rolling her eyes, "Come on, you can ogle it when you're safe," she said, moving up the hill to a large set of double doors. Eric followed silently, taking in the landscape and keeping an eye out for any escape routes should the need for one become apparent.

Silence engulfed the two, and although there were plenty of vampires and humans around the huge castle, they made no noise when the two passed. Adísa stopped in front of a large ebony door. The locks clicked open and the door opened, Samantha standing behind them with a smile, "His room is ready, at Nathaniel's request. I'll let you show him around," she said, curtsying quickly and slipping out of the room as abruptly as she'd appeared behind the doors.

"This will be your room for the duration of your stay. My room is across the hall, at the end of the corridor. Nathaniel's is next to mine, and there are a variety of other vampires and their humans in the rest of the rooms. You do not leave unless I or Nathaniel get you, it is not safe for you to be wandering around the premise," Adísa said calmly, walking into the room and glancing around aimlessly, "Blood will be brought to your room every evening when you wake, and if you should wish for a bleeder, I can arrange that too. Any questions?" she finished, turning to look at him. Eric was slightly stunned. All these rules were for _him_? Apparently, she didn't realize he was a thousand years old.

"I'm quite aware of your age Eric, but it doesn't matter. The rules here are in place for your safety. You're in Romania now, not your little America. Remember, do not leave unless I or Nathaniel come for you, understood?" she demanded, Eric nodded stiffly. He wasn't accustomed to being bossed about, especially by a woman he barely knew—he didn't like it one bit.

"Good. Enjoy your sleep. I shall see you tomorrow," the female vampire said brusquely. The doors shut behind her when she exited the room, leaving Eric in a foreign country with a bunch of vampires he didn't know. Ordinarily, he'd be calling shots, but it appeared that he was at the mercy of Nathaniel and Adísa's sway over him. Not two days had passed since Godric's death, and already he was in a crazy situation. A thought passed Eric's mind and he grinned, "Perhaps I've just gone crazy."


End file.
